Tag Archive for: resilience

How can the energy sector bolster its resilience to ransomware attacks?

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Since it plays a vital role in every functioning society, the energy sector has always been a prime target for state-backed cybercriminals. The cyber threats targeting this industry have grown significantly in recent years, as geopolitical tensions have fueled an increase in state-sponsored cyber espionage. According to one report on OT/ICS cyber security incidents, the energy sector recorded 39% of all attacks, with nearly 60% of these attacks attributed to state-affiliated groups.

energy sector attacks

As well as the threat of politically motivated attacks aimed at gaining a strategic advantage, threat actors are also attracted to the potential financial gains from accessing vast stores of sensitive Information. Attackers have also seized the opportunity to cause significant operational disruption as leverage in ransoms. A recent high-profile example is the ransomware attack against Schneider Electric, in which the Cactus ransomware gang claimed to have stolen 1.5 TB of data after breaching their systems.

As cyberattacks and ransomware rates continue to increase, there is a real concern among energy providers about the operational resilience of the industry, especially since the risks are compounded by the growing economic challenges and shifting regulatory demands.

So how can the sector navigate these challenges successfully?

Understanding the risk factors

The energy sector’s risks are partly driven by its reliance on outdated and legacy technologies. Many of the technologies and systems used by the industry have long life ratios, so over time they become more vulnerable and difficult to patch. Moreover, energy providers still rely on ageing OT assets like industrial control systems (ICS), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs).

At the same time, the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including smart sensors within energy grids and automated systems in distribution facilities, has introduced an additional layer of complexity to security. These IoT devices are not typically designed to integrate seamlessly with conventional security protocols and often come with insufficient security protections, such as…

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Rubrik urges shift from data backup to cyber resilience

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As World Backup Day approaches on March 31st, data security figure Anneka Gupta, Chief Product Officer at Rubrik, emphasises the rising importance of cyber resilience in aiding organisations to fortify themselves against cyber threats.

According to Gupta, relying solely on World Backup Day is insufficient in our fluid cybersecurity threat landscape. Instead, it is crucial we usher in “the era of cyber resilience, where the combination of cyber posture and cyber recovery will help to create a cyber resilient future and prepare organisations for any threat, at any stage of an attack.”

This declaration comes in the wake of evidence from a Rubrik Zero Labs State of Data Security report last year, which identified that not only had 93% of external organisations experienced attempts by malicious actors to disrupt data backups during a cyberattack, but 73% reported that these attempts were at least partially successful.

Gupta also examined the role of data recovery and backup systems, frequently referred to as an organisation’s last line of defence. In her perspective, “traditional solutions are no longer cutting it.” The questionable reliability of these solutions raises severe doubts about security, pivoting the critical question for organisations from ‘What backup solution do we have?’ to ‘Do I trust the solution and strategy I have in place?’

According to Gupta, the path to a cyber-resilient future requires organisations to execute three key strategies. Firstly, ensuring that data has suitable authentication and access controls can prevent cybercriminals from exploiting system vulnerabilities.

Secondly, possessing an ability to oversee vulnerable data and those affected when systems are compromised empowers IT and security teams to evaluate risks effectively and respond swiftly to threats.

Lastly, regular simulation and testing of recovery strategies are recommended. This ensures that organisations are prepared to restore critical data and systems with confidence in the event of an actual attack and without reintroducing malware.

While World Backup Day still retains significance, Gupta urges a transformation in our understanding of cyber security and a shift from mere…

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Ransomware-as-a-Service: The Threat That’s Making Cyber Resilience More Important Than Ever

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In late 2023, we covered the topic of cyber-attacks through a very detailed interview with Ram Elboim, CEO of Sygnia. As seen from that interview, the subject is dynamic, susceptible, and requires quite a lot of technical knowledge. The recent cyber-attack suffered by the British Library in London is a concrete example.

Due to ransomware – a program that, once installed, renders a system inaccessible – library services are unavailable, and sensitive user and employee data, including names, e-mails, and phone numbers, have been stolen. Usually, groups that carry such attacks demand a financial ransom to make the data accessible again.

Together with Sygnia and two of its leading figures, such as CEO Ram Elboim and UK and Northern Europe Manager Director Azeem Aleem, we will try to build on this example to understand other aspects of this complex and dangerous world.

The attack suffered by the British Library in London shocked everyone for several reasons. What happened? Who carried out the attack? Why does this attack represent such a big problem? 

Azeem: “The cyber-attack on the British Library highlights how ransomware gangs, are leaving no stone unturned, attacking not only businesses of all sectors that have high-value data, but now academia too. It also shows the brutal nature of triple extortion attack methods – crippling business operations and stealing data, before putting it up for ransom and publishing the data. Academic environments typically have fewer security protocols, with under-invested security teams, and are riddled with unpatched software and apps, that when combined, create the perfect playing field for hackers.

The British Library is a national treasure with a collection that holds some of the World’s most prized manuscripts, music scores, sound recordings, and first-edition books, including William Shakespeare’s plays. In this case, the Rhysida gang, a relatively new but substantial ransomware group, shut down the British Library’s website, phone systems, and other onsite services, causing an outage before stealing user data and employee details – almost 500,000 files amounting to 573GB. Within a matter of weeks, the gang had threatened to…

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Waident Selects Object First’s Ootbi to Bolster Ransomware Resilience

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Object First delivers Waident and its customers ransomware-proof, out-of-the-box immutability, mitigating loss, downtime, and financial impact from ransomware attacks

BEVERLY, Mass., January 17, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Object First, the provider of Ootbi (Out-of-the-Box-Immutability), the ransomware-proof backup storage appliance purpose-built for Veeam®, today announced its partnership with Waident Technology Solutions, a SOC2 cybersecurity and IT outsourcer that supports and manages SMB technology for clients throughout the Midwest. Waident will use Ootbi as its primary backup storage solution to ensure ransomware-proof immutability and safeguard customers from rising cyber threats.

Based in Chicago, Waident provides a range of services, including IT strategy, security, support, and secure cloud. It has built its reputation on delivering resilient IT and keeping customers’ enterprises running, productive, and secure. John Quinn, Principal of Waident, sought a likeminded partner and selected Object First’s Ootbi as the top solution to mitigate loss, downtime, and financial impact from ransomware attacks.

With nearly 3-in-4 worldwide organizations (73%) affected by ransomware in 2023, organizations have reached a critical point where it’s not if, but when, an attack will occur. Backups are a primary target of attacks, which is why Ootbi delivers a robust immutable backup storage solution that is scalable, simple, secure, and affordable. This enables Waident customers to meet Zero Trust security standards for data management and protect data with immutability within minutes — no advanced storage or security expertise required.

“Waident is highly selective in its partnerships. We choose partners that not only address current needs, but also anticipate future challenges,” said Quinn. “With Object First, we have a partner with a strong pedigree and capacity to help us deliver our trademark resilient IT. Object First understands our needs, is committed to delivering a solution aligned with our expectations, and will not leave our clients with a here-today-gone-tomorrow scenario.”

Object First and Waident are client-centric organizations, dedicated to prioritizing the…

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